


I'm (Not) Okay, I Promise

by saradise48



Series: and I thought I told you to make your move [1]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Or As Much As It Can Be, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-09-02 17:31:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8676403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saradise48/pseuds/saradise48
Summary: Time never meant anything with them. It had been perfect. Where it all went wrong was when Connor decided it was a good idea to spend a weekend with the Stromes in Mississauga rather than focus on getting ready to head back to Edmonton and start gearing up for the season. Ryan and Matt were both supposed to be home, and Connor knew subconsciously that it all would end up being too much as Dylan pulled into his driveway. But apparently he was into digging his own personal grave as of late, because he followed Dylan into the house without a word of protest.





	

The ride to Mississauga after their week at camp with biosteel was just like it always had been between them: casual, like they hadn’t missed a beat in their friendship. Connor thought he probably knew Dylan better than he knew himself in some respects. And that was the problem as of late. 

Their sophomore season was hard while they were apart without the midseason reprieve they had gotten their rookie year when Connor came back home with his arm in a sling, miserable but able to spend time with his best friend. It was the worst when Dylan was sent back to Erie for the second time and Connor was busy most of the time trying to figure out how to be an NHL captain. Connor was still personally offended that Arizona couldn’t see the gem they had in Dylan. But they had done the distance thing the season before, it was nothing they couldn’t handle. Best friends always stuck together, especially them. And they had survived, even without seeing each other in person for almost a year.

Connor was pretty sure the night before Matt’s draft when he saw Dylan for the first time since the last offseason was when he completely realized Dylan was it for him. Mitch insisted he was making heart eyes at Dylan long before that but what did Marner know about anything? That night was something Connor went back to often; everything just fell back into place that night like the past nine months apart didn’t even matter. 

And they didn’t. Time never meant anything with them. It had been perfect. 

Where it all went wrong was when Connor decided it was a good idea to spend a weekend with the Stromes in Mississauga rather than focus on getting ready to head back to Edmonton and start gearing up for the season. Ryan and Matt were both supposed to be home, Matt bringing his girlfriend home while Ryan flew solo without JT, and Connor knew subconsciously that it all would end up being too much as Dylan pulled into his driveway. But apparently he was into digging his own personal grave as of late, because he followed Dylan into the house without a word of protest. 

-

Connor half expected the set up he walked into in Dylan’s room, but that didn’t lessen the uneasy feeling that rose up when Dylan asked if it would be cool if they shared the bed for the next two nights so Matt’s girlfriend could have the air mattress. All he could do was nod, dropping his duffel bag by the foot of the bed and giving a weak smile to Dylan. 

“My mom said dinner should be ready in about an hour. I’ll kick your ass in NHL 17 in the meantime,” Dylan said smugly, tossing his arm across Connor’s shoulders as he led him back downstairs where Ryan was in the living room. 

“Sure, Dyls, whatever you say.” Connor knew the chirp back was weak, but he didn’t have the capacity to focus on his comebacks when Dylan was looking at him like that. Ryan and Matt were already in the living room bickering about something that Connor couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to, but they stopped talking when they noticed Dylan and Connor had walked in. 

“What’s up, McJesus?” Matt asked. Dylan threw a pillow at him for it, but that only made his brother laugh and whisper something to the oldest Strome that Connor couldn’t hear. 

NHL 17 ended up being Connor and Dylan against Ryan and Matt. The final seconds ticked down on the game clock just as Dylan's mom called for them to come for dinner, resulting in a win for Connor and Dylan. They both smiled brightly at each other as Ryan shoved Matt off the edge of the couch before standing and following his mom to the dining room. Matt glared at them from the floor as Dylan bumped his fist against Connor’s, the smile not leaving his face as he shut off the TV and ignored his younger brother. 

“You two are gross,” Matt mumbled once Dylan left the room and Connor was the only one left to hear. “And one of you needs to get your head out of your ass already.”

Matt left before Connor could question what he was talking about; there was no way he had been that obvious. He knew he needed to work on how much he let show around other people, but Connor swore he had it under control. It was only Friday night, he couldn’t let everything slip already. 

-

After dinner, everyone headed outback to the deck where Ryan was starting up a fire in the pit. Dylan perched himself up on the railing and Connor trailed behind him, dragging a lawn chair to a spot near Dylan’s feet. Connor heard him snort from above him, so he dropped his head back against the chair to look at what he was doing. 

“Marns won’t shut up about Matthews, oh my _god,”_ Dylan managed through a fit of laughter as he handed his phone to Connor. On the screen was his conversation with Mitch; as Connor scrolled through the texts, more and more of the messages were written in caps along with screenshots of text threads and snapchats between Mitch and Auston. _Why is he trying to give me advice on my love life if he can’t get his shit together either?_ Connor thought to himself and made a mental reminder to send a text later on. 

Connor tried to pass the phone back with a soft laugh, but Dylan shook his head and slid down from his spot on the railing. “Scoot over,” he mumbled. Without even waiting, he shoved himself into the miniscule amount of space that Connor didn’t already take up on the chair; the only issue was Dylan still didn’t fit, so he ended up halfway across Connor’s lap anyway. “He asked me if he should snapchat Auston and see what he’s up to, what should I tell him?” Dylan asked like nothing was the matter while Connor tried to keep his breathing under control. 

There was no way Ryan and Matt weren’t aware of what was going on but Connor kept his head down because otherwise he’d never hear the end of it. He shrugged, “I say we let him figure it out on his own. Those two are ridiculous.”

Dylan snorted. “I tried ignoring him, but he only blew up my phone until I couldn’t take it anymore. I’m just gonna tell him to man up and text the guy, it’s obvious they’re both gone for each other. The way they look at each other is fucking gross,” Dylan complained, but he was smiling and Connor could hear the fondness he had for Mitch. Connor could remember when that tone would make him jealous beyond belief—maybe Mitch was right, Connor just couldn’t admit it back then—but he knew Mitch would always have an important piece of Dylan. Surprisingly, he was okay with that, especially if Mitch was too caught up with Auston to do anything else besides him and hockey. “Hey,” Dylan nudged Connor. “You okay?”

He smiled, genuine that time, “Yeah, yeah. I was just thinking.”

“Don’t strain yourself,” Dylan giggled before going back to his phone and settling more against Connor’s chest. Connor had lost count of the amount of times Dylan had said that to him but he only smiled as he watched him type out a message to Mitch. 

Once he was done, they were quiet as they waited for a response. The phone pinged a few minutes later, another text in all caps, something along the lines of _‘I’m dying, what if he doesn’t respond, I’ll look like an idiot.’_ They both only laughed as Dylan locked his phone without sending a reply.

After another half hour, the fire started dying as the sun set and everyone began turning in for the night. Matt gave a pointed look that, thankfully, only Connor saw as he got up and walked back inside with his girlfriend and Ryan. 

Dylan had gotten comfortable if his dozing against Connor’s shoulder was anything to go by, and regretfully, Connor nudged him until he got up. Even once they were up, Dylan leaned heavily on Connor as they got inside and upstairs to his room. “C’mon, Stromer, at least brush your teeth,” Connor insisted as he led them both to the bathroom. They went through their routines in a comfortable silence and Dylan flopped down on his side the bed the moment his shins touched the endboard in only a tshirt and his boxers. His full sized bed was entirely too small for two fully grown hockey players but as Connor got in on his side, Dylan made up for the lack of room by practically laying on top of him. A leg was hitched across Connor’s along with an arm across his waist as Dylan buried his face in the space between his shoulder and neck. 

They had always been tactile with each other. He could admit that much, and Connor was essentially trapped under a furnace at that moment, but there was no way he was going to complain. 

-

Connor woke up first the next morning to the sunlight streaming in through the window which they forgot to close the blinds on the night before. The second thing he registered was the reason why the blankets were discarded on the floor: Dylan was pressed all up against his back and Connor could see where Dylan’s arm settled heavily across his waist at some point last night. 

He didn’t know whether to run screaming from exactly what he wanted but knew he could never have because Dylan wasn’t like that, or to savor the moment while he could because it would be all he ever could get. Before he could make the decision, Dylan yawned and rolled away from him, landing with a loud thud on the floor. 

“You alright?” Connor asked blearily, still not moving from the other side of the bed. Dylan groaned a response, then Connor felt the bed dip next to him as Dylan sat back up. 

As he turned over to face him, Dylan scrubbed his hands over his eyes with another yawn, “Who turned all the lights on?”

“You, because I had to get your tired ass to bed last night so I was a little busy,” Connor tried weakly. Mitch and Dylan had always told him his chirps were terrible but only then was Connor starting to believe them when Dylan made a stupid face at him. 

“Mitch says Auston asked what he’s doing in a week,” Dylan said after a few minutes of quietly going through their own phones. “Apparently Auston’s planning to head up here early since his mom wanted to stay with him to get to know Toronto better and he wanted to know if Mitch wanted to hang out with them.”

“Great, so he’ll be too busy with his boyfriend and I don’t have to deal with him then?” Connor quipped, and that got him a pillow to the face along with Dylan’s laugh which made it worth it, really.

“You love him. But we all know I’m your favorite.” And. Well. Connor couldn’t disagree with that.

-

They went downstairs together and were met with Ryan in the kitchen watching his mom with a bowl of cereal as she cooked while they talked softly together. They stopped abruptly when they saw Dylan in the doorway, but picked up on some other thread of conversation, acting as if nothing had happened. Dylan shot Connor a look of confusion, but he only shrugged in response, worried that his speculation of what they were talking about was right. 

“Matty was trying to get a few of the other guys out for some street hockey today, you guys in?”

“Sure,” Dylan answered for the both of them. He turned to Connor, “I have an extra pair of gloves and a stick in the basement.”

“We’ll see where we can put McJesus so it’s fair,” Ryan went on with a shrug, turning back to his bowl of cereal. “No way you two are ever gonna be on the same line if you still have the chemistry like you did in juniors.”

God, Connor hoped they did. They hadn’t played together in years, though. Not since the last time Connor wore the Otters logo on his chest back in 2015. He wished it hadn’t worked out that way for them, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t content to stay in Edmonton as long as possible. Even so, they hadn’t played _against_ each other yet, either. Connor couldn’t even remember the last time he had seen Dylan play hockey in person, period. 

“Give us one round to see if we’ve still got it.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ryan said dismissively as he put his bowl in the sink and headed for the stairs. “Matt said be ready in an hour.”

“You wanna head out early and set up?” Dylan asked, turning to Connor with an offer of a breakfast bar and a bottle of water. Connor couldn’t not agree so they went and changed, then got the nets out of the garage and set them up in the street in front of the Strome house. “Do you think we still have it? That magic we used to have in Erie?” Dylan questioned absently as he juggled a ball on his stick. 

_I hope so._ But, “Only one way to find out, eh, Stromer?” was what he actually said, knocking the ball away in midair and running after it, Dylan’s laughter trailing behind him. 

-

Ryan gave them the first shift together and within minutes pulled them back off. Connor had thought that there was no way what they had in Erie could have lasted all the time they spent apart, but once they were out and the ball was dropped it was like Dylan had described it: magic. They both fell back into the roles they held in juniors like it was second nature, even after all the time they spent in different programs and franchises. They were Connor and Dylan, linemates, again and they knew exactly where the other would be at any given moment. 

Connor took a break instead of playing against Dylan when he noticed the little 97, faded and worn with age, tucked up on the corner of the Erie shirt Dylan had changed into before. He ducked to look at his phone before he could overthink anything. 

While the guys took a break after the first game, Connor fired off a text to Mitch. _How’s Auston?_

 _Fuck you_ was the response he got within a few seconds. _What are you and Stromer doing?_

Instead of a text, Connor opened snapchat and sent a picture of the boys as they chose the teams for the second game. “Hey,” Dylan called, separating from the group and joining Connor on the curb. “Are you gonna play this round?”

Connor shrugged. “It seems like it would be more fair for me to sit out.” What he didn’t say was he wasn’t ready to play against Dylan yet. It was a fucking street hockey game at the end of the summer and Connor still wasn’t ready for it to be the first time they would face off against each other as NHLers. Dylan was always on his side. He thought he had been ready for it last season right before they flew down to Arizona, but then Dylan got sent back to Erie and he admitted to himself that as good as he looked in the burgundy and black of the Coyotes, nothing would ever match the times when they were matching in the colors of the Otters. 

“We don’t have to stay, you know. There’s a couple extra guys now, we wouldn’t be missed.”

Connor looked up at him and saw that Dylan actually seemed concerned, of all things. “You don’t have to.”

“You think I don’t know that, Davo? You’re my best friend, not these guys that Matt rounded up.”

“Okay. Where to?”

-

They ended up at Timmy’s a half hour later, each with an iced coffee and half a doughnut. Mitch had been sending them both increasingly distressed texts the more they ignored him and his Auston problem. “It wouldn’t really be a problem if one of them fessed up, though, honestly,” Dylan remarked casually as he scrolled through the texts so Mitch would see the little read receipt next to his messages. Connor wondered how this had become his life.

Connor went through the messages he got from Mitch, too, and noticed he also had one from Auston. He said he got in that morning and asked if Connor wanted to hang out before he headed out west to Edmonton to start gearing up for camp. He got an idea. “Tell Mitch the three of us are hanging out today,” he told Dylan once he got a yes from Auston.

“What are you planning?”

“I’m helping Mitch get his head out of his ass.”

-

Besides Dylan, Auston Matthews was one of the few people who he was close with that Connor believed really understood what kind of pressure he faced on a daily basis. Essentially, Auston was the American version of himself, so he knew the expectations of a first overall pick. They hadn’t really talked before the World Cup last year, but once they got on the ice together, it was fucking beautiful; and they got on just as well of the ice. 

Between his friendship with Auston and his friendship with Mitch, Connor figured he owed them one as he set up dinner at a burger place in downtown. 

After Dylan got his hesitant yes from Mitch, they headed back to Dylan’s to nap for a bit, then change before they would meet the guys in a few hours. Connor avoided another situation with the bed by immediately going for the futon in the basement instead of heading upstairs and he got away with only mild complaints from Dylan at the top of the stairs. 

They were in the car a half hour before they said they’d be at the restaurant, and they were quiet for most of the ride into the city save for Dylan occasionally singing to songs on the radio that Connor didn’t recognize. 

Mitch was waiting for them outside the restaurant with a Jays cap pulled low over his eyes when they got there, his smile all teeth when he saw them and hugged them both. When Connor thought about it, he had actually seen Mitch more often than he saw Dylan last season. But it didn’t matter, Dylan was there with them and Connor still felt amazing after the few minutes they had together as teammates again. 

Thankfully, Mitch didn’t question it when the hostess led them to a table set for four, only bickered with Dylan across the table idly as he looked over the menu. Connor kept his focus on the entrance until he saw Auston come in and glance around the dining room for them. When he found Connor, he waved, then came up behind Mitch as he said hello, sending Mitch flying while Dylan and Connor looked on with similar grins. 

Auston took the open seat next to Mitch and across from Connor with a grin in Mitch’s direction before he picked up the menu. Connor asked the standard, “How was your offseason?” types of questions while Mitch glared daggers in his and Dylan’s directions when Auston wasn’t looking. But when Auston was looking, his expression turned to such an open look of adoration it made Connor want to throw up and hope he never got caught looking at Dylan like that around him. 

Dylan nudged Connor’s calf with his foot, then pointed to his phone where it rested on the booth between them just as it lit up with a text message from him. _Marns has kicked me three times since Auston walked in get this show on the road before I need shin replacement surgery._ Connor suppressed his laughter as he turned back to the other guys. 

“You should have seen my mom’s face when I told her who I was meeting for dinner,” Auston smiled after the waitress had come to take their orders. “She’s excited to see you again,” he went on casually, turning to Mitch. A blush was starting to color Mitch’s cheeks as Auston looked away. 

“Me, too,” Mitch said, uncharacteristically quiet.

Most of the time between ordering and when the food came was passed with small talk about hockey and training regimens. Auston got a call not long after the waitress left with their order and excused himself outside. 

“What the _fuck?”_ Mitch snapped as soon as he was out of earshot. “What the _actual_ fuck?”

“You’re fucking stupid if you can’t see what we’re trying to do here. And don’t go starting on the ‘too busy with hockey’ bullshit because that’s literally never stopped you,” Dylan cut in. “Get your shit together and say something to him tonight, Marns.”

Auston came back before Dylan could continue. Mitch mumbled something to him that Connor couldn’t quite hear over Auston’s apology about the phone call from apparently his agent, but whatever he said turned Dylan’s ears bright red and put a scowl on his face for the rest of the night. 

There was still friendly banter between the four of them as Mitch calmed down, though Connor noticed that Dylan limited the amount of times he talked directly to him or even looked in his direction. Whatever it was that Mitch had said, it left Dylan in a solemn mood for the rest of dinner.

Even so, they got through dinner with no major incidents, and soon they were heading back out to the parking lot in a little group. “We’re right here,” Dylan said as they got to his car. Auston pointed down a few cars when Connor asked where they parked and Mitch supplied that he walked. 

“Did you want a ride?” Dylan asked.

“Don’t worry about it, you’re going in the opposite direction,” Mitch waved him off, already backing away from the group. 

“I can drop you off,” Auston offered and Connor watched in amusement when Mitch’s face blanched. 

“Uh, sure?” Mitch said once he got his composure back. “You don’t mind?”

“Dude, it’s on my way home, it’s fine.”

Mitch made a noise that Connor only heard because he had moved right next to him, somewhere between a whimper and a sigh, before he followed Auston to his car with a final goodbye from both of them. 

“Maybe,” Dylan shrugged once they got into his car, “I’ll get a call from him screaming about who’s taking whose last name tonight instead of him freaking out about what he should text him.” Connor only laughed and debated whether or not he should ask about what Mitch had told him when Auston had come back from his phone call. Before he could even get a word out, Dylan was talking again. “I love the guy but he can be really annoying sometimes.”

Again, the only thing Connor could manage was a laugh.

-

They hung out with Ryan and Matt for a couple hours in the living room watching the end of the Jays game. With about an inning left, Connor lost interest and decided to turn in. When he was halfway up the stairs, he heard Dylan call out his goodnights to his parents in the kitchen and then he was following Connor upstairs. They went through their routines as they had the night before in silence before Connor forced himself into Dylan’s room to face the issue of sleeping arrangements again. 

Dylan once again dropped face first onto the bed like it was nothing while Connor sat on the edge of the bed as he fiddled with his phone. “Davo.”

He turned around and saw, even in the dark, Dylan with his face smashed into the pillow. “Yeah?”

“Mitch said something to me today that I’ve been thinking about since. He said that he wasn’t the only one that needed to get his head out of his ass.”

“What does that mean?” Connor asked hesitantly as he pushed on the bed to sit up against the headboard. Dylan pushed himself up on his elbows. 

“It means that I’ve been an idiot for you since juniors,” he mumbled, staring at his hands on the pillow in front of him. 

“Stromer, you’re tired we shouldn’t-”

“No, I need to get this out.” He took a breath before he went on. “Mitch has been on my case since the draft pretty much but I’ve shut him down every time he tried to bring you up. He didn’t take no for an answer this time apparently.”

“But why are you bringing this up now?”

“I don’t know, Mitch finally got himself together, I was scared shitless before now about what your reaction would be, but I figured it was my turn.” Dylan breathed an empty laugh, “I fell in love with the superstar I used to play with in juniors but I’ve only admitted it to him now.” He sat up all the way, crossing his legs under himself as he faced Connor. 

He didn’t know what to think at that point. The boy he had been pining over for literal years had just told him he loved him just as long but there Connor was, frozen to his spot on the bed, unable to string any words together in a response. All the while, Connor watched as Dylan’s expression became more and more worried in the dim light that was coming inside from the street lamps. All he managed was, “God, _Dyls,”_ before Connor pulled him in by his shirt collar and he was kissing him. 

Connor spent so many nights thinking that it could never be his life, he could never have Dylan the way he always had wanted, but there they were. Connor’s hands knotted in Dylan’s hair while Dylan scrambled to get a grip on Connor’s shirt. “I love you, Davo. Fuck, I can’t even tell you how long I’ve been terrified to tell you that,” Dylan finally said a long while later from his spot above Connor on the bed. 

“I love you, too. And trust me, I know,” Connor said back, running his fingers through the hair on the back of Dylan’s neck. “Mitch seemed to be the one of us that knew what was going on. I guess we helped all each other get our shit together.”

Dylan dipped his head to press a kiss to Connor’s mouth. “I’m never gonna get sick of that,” he said against his neck. Connor couldn’t help his smile once Dylan’s face reappeared in his line of sight.

“Sap,” he joked. Dylan rolled his eyes but kissed him one more time, lingering for a moment before he rolled over to his side of the bed, tossing his arm across Connor’s waist like he had done the last night. 

“I love you,” Dylan mumbled into his neck.

“Love you, too, Dyls. Get some sleep,” Connor answered easily, elated when he wrapped his arm around Dylan’s back and he only snuggled in closer. 

-

Connor woke up with a smile on his face and Dylan tucked into his side as he snored softly against Connor’s neck. He sat, staring at the ceiling, in wonder of last night and how everything he had ever wanted was suddenly his until Dylan woke up sometime later. “Hey,” Connor whispered when he felt Dylan shift against him. 

Instead of saying anything, Dylan pushed himself up to meet Connor’s lips in a kiss. He hummed contentedly, but made no move to pull away until a few minutes later when Connor had to come up for air. “Fuck, I could get used to that,” Dylan said, moving to his neck. 

“Go ahead, then. I’m not going anywhere.” He was, though. They both were. Back to Edmonton and Arizona, back to the reality of their jobs and their lives. No way Connor doubted them, though. They had done it for two seasons already and it was the reason skype existed. Dylan stopped his mission on Connor’s neck to drop his head against Connor’s shoulder and laugh. “What?”

“You’re telling Mitch,” Dylan said between his fits of giggles as he rolled off of Connor to get his phone on the table beside his bed. 

“Fuck no,” Connor grinned at his back. “You’re his best friend, you tell him.”

Dylan rolled back over as he hit dial on Mitch’s number, propping the back of his head on his other hand and Connor’s shoulder while it rang on speakerphone. “What?” Mitch answered on the last ring. 

“Good morning to you, too, Mitchell,” Dylan replied. Before he could go on, he heard someone in the background call Mitch’s name. “Where are you?” 

“Home.”

“That didn’t sound like your mom, Marns. Who are you with?” Dylan asked again as the voice got louder as the person called out again. 

“Is that Auston?” Connor practically yelled from his spot behind Dylan. 

_“Shut the fuck up,”_ Mitch barked. The next time he spoke wasn’t to them and they could only hear bits of the conversation so he must have covered the speaker of his phone. “Is there a reason you’re calling me at eight in the morning on a Sunday? Did you just want to hear my beautiful voice, Dylan?”

“Well, we did have news for you but it seems like you do, too.”

“What, did you finally get over yourself and tell McAsshole how you feel?” Mitch snickered.

“Yeah, actually.”

Mitch was speechless for the better part of a minute before he whooped into the phone. “Fucking finally!”

“Now you fucking spill,” Connor retorted.

“I met Auston and his mom at his place for breakfast.”

“That’s it?” Connor and Dylan both asked. 

“I may or may not have been reintroduced as his boyfriend,” Mitch said eventually. Dylan turned back his head to look at Connor with a wide smile. _Finally._ “He drove me back to my place last night and I invited him in since it was still early. We ended up putting on a movie. I don’t really remember what happened with that, though. But I got here this morning, and the fucking smile on him when he answered the door. He asked before I even got inside if I was cool with it,” they could hear his smile. 

“Where are you now, then?”

“Hiding out in his bathroom, currently. You called right before everything was ready.”

“Go fucking spend the morning with your boy then, Marns!” Dylan called, then hung up. “They’re gonna be good.”

“We’re gonna be better, though,” Connor said, then he extracted himself from his spot on the bed and pulled Dylan up with him. “Come on, I’m hungry.”

-

Dylan’s parents caught on pretty soon that something had happened between their son and his best friend since the night before. While his dad gave Connor a slap on the back, his mom held back tears while she kept repeating, “They’re happy tears, I promise.”

Ryan and Matt were something else entirely. Ryan came down late for breakfast to see Dylan with Connor’s arm around his shoulders with a fond look. His eyes widened when he saw the hickey forming on the column of Connor’s throat, and immediately he turned around and walked out of the kitchen yelling, “McJesus and Dylan got their shit together, Matty!” as Matt came downstairs, bleary eyed and confused. 

“The hell are you talking about?” Matt asked as he walked into the kitchen. Then, he saw what Ryan had seen and went over to punch his brother with a grin. “About time.”

Connor had booked his flight back to Edmonton for noon, so after breakfast he went back up to pack up his stuff into the bag he brought. Dylan followed him up and sat quietly on the bed, watching Connor as he gathered his clothes from the dirty pile on the floor and put the rest of his things in the bag. “I still have about an hour before we need to leave,” Connor said as he looked at his watch when he was done packing. “Hey,” he said softly to get Dylan’s attention when he didn’t look up. He crouched down in front of Dylan, his hands on Dylan’s knees to keep himself balanced.

“At least we’ll see each other five times this season,” Dylan said finally with a small smile. Connor didn’t think he could be more grateful for the way scheduling worked out to let Arizona and Edmonton have a game against each other in the preseason. “And the preseason game is away for you guys so even if I don’t play...” Dylan trailed off and Connor had to hold back his resentment toward the Coyotes management. 

“Don’t talk like that, Dyls. You’ll make it this year, okay?” he insisted. When Dylan only nodded, Connor was thankful they didn’t have to have a conversation about his hockey and the shitty Arizona management at that moment. “Look at me?” When Dylan’s eyes met his, Connor reached up to hold the back of Dylan’s neck as he pulled him down to a kiss. “Now drive me to the airport before I miss my flight getting distracted by you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope I did them justice! 
> 
> Title adapted from the MCR song, I'm Not Okay (I Promise), because it played when I was writing and I thought it applied pretty well to Connor's angst.


End file.
